by Alan McArthur
Landmark reporter

Platte County R-3 School Board members are considering whether a 27,000 square foot building would be a nice addition to the district’s campus along Hwy. 92 in Platte City.

At the last school board meeting, members discussed options of purchasing the Stiles Building at 998 Platte Falls Road. Stiles Enterprises is trying to sell the building at a cost of $2.4 million.

Prior to the meeting, members toured the building to view the interior and space of the building.

“There are a million things we could use that for,” said Mike Reik, assistant superintendent.

Some suggestions for the building included a larger space for administrative offices, a bus barn, or a new elementary school.

“We will have a recommendation next time for you,” said Harpst to the school board. “We can justify using the warehouse space and bus barn. We have around 40 buses and use almost $3,000 in gas a month starting routes.”

In order to use as a bus barn, the building would need to be renovated to be vented and possibly have doors so buses could pull through the warehouse part of the building.

The structure has been empty since being built in 2005 by Stiles Enterprises. The building sits on approximately two acres of land adjacent to the Platte City Middle School.

“We won’t find anywhere closer than this to our campus,” said Harpst, “and we couldn’t build something for less than this property is.”

The school board will meet again on Monday, Aug. 13 after a Back To School picnic to discuss the issue further.